


Run For Your Life

by jlaw13



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss, six the musical
Genre: Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Katherine trying to help someone all too like herself, Mentions of Sexual Assault
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-05-18 18:35:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19340242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jlaw13/pseuds/jlaw13
Summary: Katherine Howard leans on all the other queens for support in navigating a world that is sometimes too much for her to bear. But when a new young girl comes into her life, and reminds Katherine all too much of herself as a child, she realizes that she must step up if she wants to save someone from suffering a fate like her own.





	1. A Bad Day

Katherine Howard had been having a bad day. She had woken up with a terrible headache, to find that the last of her favourite cereal had been finished by none other than Miss Anne Boleyn. Then she accidentally threw her new white shirt in with Jane’s dark blue wash, leaving it dyed a completely different colour than it had originally been. Finally, some man on the street had catcalled her while she was walking with Jane to the Arts Theatre to get ready for their evening show. Katherine had been working a lot on coping and managing her anxiety in situations like that and having Jane there to give her hand a little squeeze made her able to complete the trip to the theatre flustered but in one piece. 

After assuring Jane that she was completely fine for what felt like the hundredth time, Katherine got ready to step on stage and morph into the larger than life version of herself that she loved becoming every night. When Katherine had first come back to life, as a 21st century girl, a man looking at her for one second too long would have been enough to send her into a full-blown spiral. Through months of therapy and hard work, she had grown more confident, and now was even able to handle a cat-call an hour before a show. Still, the darkness of the day, was enough to weigh her down a little as she performed, and once she got to her song she started crying before she even mentioned Thomas’ name. She saw the other queens shooting her nervous looks as she broke down in the final chorus of her song, but ignored them, and was able to pull herself together enough to get out her cheeky one-liner after her song ended. As the other queens returned to the stage, Katherine shot Jane and Parr reassuring looks to make sure they knew that she was okay to finish the show. As she went on to continue with the next few lines of dialogue, she couldn’t help but sneak a glance into the audience to see if any of them had been bothered by her breakdown. Most audience members seemed content, moved by her story, but not more than usual, and Katherine was about to look away when a tiny face in the corner of her vision caught her attention. She turned her head slightly to see a small girl in the front row, with huge blue eyes, red from crying, and tear streaked cheeks. She was staring at Katherine with a look that could only be described as despair. Katherine’s brow furrowed, concerned for this young girl, but unable to do anything as she had a show to continue.

By the time they reached the Megasix, Katherine had all but forgotten the event of her terrible day and the small girl’s crying face. The remainder of the show had been astounding, with the audience and the queens pouring all of their energy into making it the best they possibly could. Katherine had a grand time dancing around with Parr and Anna, and when the time came for her to sing her part, she dropped to her knee as she did every night to reach out at and smile for the audience. As she crouched down however, she found herself face to face with the same small face from before, much larger now up close. The girls bright blue eyes were puffy from crying, but she had a smile on her face. She didn’t look older than eleven or twelve, and when Katherine met her eyes, her smile faltered slightly. Worry filled Katherine’s heart again, and the second the show was finished she dashed upstairs to get changed, wanting to meet this girl before she left. In her haste she accidentally pushed Parr, Cleves, and Anne over, and when they reached the top of the stairs, Boleyn did not hold back.  
“Um, Kitty, what the hell was that?”  
Katherine was so busy trying to find her coat that she didn’t even register what Anne had said.  
“Kitty? Hello? Earth to Katherine Howard?” Anne waved her arms around in an attempt to get the girl’s attention. Finally, Kat found her coat and threw it on, only to look up into the faces of five very confused queens.  
“Kat darling, what is going on, where are you rushing off to?” Jane said.  
“And an apology would be lovely, thanks,” continued Anne.  
Katherine wanted to explain to the queens what was going on, but she didn’t know how, and she didn’t have time.  
“Sorry Annie,” she mumbled, pushing past the queens and rushing out the door, “I have to go.”  
Jane called after her, but Kat barely heard as she barrelled down the stairs into the lobby. Members of the audience gasped and shouted their praise and congratulations as they saw her, and she smiled at them, but kept her eyes scanning the crowd. Suddenly she saw her. A tiny girl with long brown hair and those unmistakable blue eyes standing alone. Kat pushed past the crowd to reach her. When the girl saw her, her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped.  
“You’re Katherine Howard,” she said in a small voice, “the Katherine Howard.”  
Katherine smiled and nodded “The one and only. What’s your name?”  
“Mackenzie” she said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. She opened her mouth to say something else but stopped herself. Katherine’s eyes softened.  
“What is it?”  
“It’s just…” Mackenzie started. She paused and took a deep breath before continuing. “Your life, your first life, was so terrible. And it never got any better.” Her voice quivered slightly, “all those men did terrible things to you, but they never got anything terrible done to them. And your life just got worse and worse right up until you died.”  
Katherine kneeled down so that she was closer to Mackenzie’s face before she spoke. “But I got a second chance. Those men were terrible, yes, but I get to live my life again, and that’s all I need. And the 21st century is so much better than the 16th. Men don’t get away with things like that anymore.” She ends, in an attempt to comfort the girl. But Mackenzie’s face contorted slightly, and she shook her head.  
“That’s not true at all,” She countered, her voice a little louder. “Men still do all the things they did to you and they still get away with it. Music teachers, doctors, family friends, fathers…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes filled with tears and the small nagging worry that had been in the back of Katherine’s mind before increased tenfold. She wanted to reach out, to protect this girl from the demons that already haunted her, but just as she was about to speak, she saw a hand rest itself on Mackenzie’s shoulder. Katherine looked up into a grown man’s face, and she quickly got herself to her feet, not missing the small flinch from Mackenzie at the hand on her shoulder.  
“Kenz are you bothering this nice young woman?” The man asked in a loud and deep voice. Mackenzie shook her head violently and Katherine quickly spoke.  
“Not at all, we were just chatting.” She smiled a smile that she could tell didn’t fully reach her eyes. “Mackenzie was just telling me about how much she enjoyed the show, and that’s always lovely to hear.”  
“Oh, are you one of the wives?” The man said, a slight mocking lacing his tone, “Kenzie will not shut up about you guys, which one are you?”  
“I’m Katherine Howard”  
“The pretty one, right? The one who had the affair that got her beheaded?” Katherine wanted to come up with a smart response, but she was so flustered by this man’s apparent lack of manners that she couldn’t. “Alright Kenz, we better go.” The man -Katherine was assuming Mackenzie’s father at this point- continued. He started to move Mackenzie away, but Kat stepped in front of them.  
“Actually, could I just steal her for one more second?” She said, her voice sickly sweet. “It won’t be long I promise.” Mackenzie’s father rolled his eyes slightly before shrugging and releasing the girl.  
“I’ll be waiting outside, don’t be too long Kenzie.”  
As soon as he was several feet away Katherine dropped to her knees again. Mackenzie’s eyes were full of fear and hopelessness, and Katherine didn’t know what to do to help. She only knew that if she were right, and Mackenzie was undergoing something similar to what Katherine had gone through all those years ago, she would want someone she could trust, someone in her corner. Quickly, Katherine reached into her bag and pulled out a sticky note and a pen, grateful that Jane had put them there earlier this week. She wrote quickly and handed the note to Mackenzie.  
“This is my phone number.” She said as Kenzie took the note in her small trembling hand. “You call me night or day, if you need anything, I will be there.” Her tone was gentle, but firm, and Katherine only hoped that Mackenzie understood. Mackenzie gripped the note like it was a lifeline. She looked up into Katherine’s eyes again.  
“Thank you.” She whispered, her voice catching in her throat.  
“You don’t have to go with him-“ Katherine started to say, but she was cut off by Mackenzie quickly shaking her head again.  
“I have to go with him.” She said, her voice resigned but determined. Then she quickly turned on her heel and walked out of the lobby of the theatre, leaving Katherine on her knees staring after her, praying that she would get a phone call soon.


	2. I Have to Try Harder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Thank you to everyone who has left a kind note in the comments, this is my first time writing something like this, and this story is very near and dear to my heart. I am going to try to post as often as possible for the next couple of weeks, before my job starts and more of my time is taken up. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

The next few days were agonizing for Katherine Howard. She spent hours sitting by her phone, ringer turned up to maximum volume, waiting, hoping, praying that it would ring, and she could whisk Mackenzie away to safety, to a place where no one would ever hurt her again. The other queens took note of Katherine’s strange behavior, but no one said anything, perhaps afraid to interfere with whatever it was that held so much of her attention. As the days went on and still no call came, Katherine began to doubt herself. Maybe Mackenzie had just read a story in the news that had frightened her, or she was so shocked by Katherine’s story that she reacted overly emotional. But something in the back of Katherine’s mind told her it was more than that, and so she was unable to rest, or think of anything else. Kat knew she was being rude to the other queens, keeping her phone with her during meals and while they were spending time together, but she couldn’t risk missing Mackenzie’s call. 

Three days after the fateful show with the crying girl, in the middle of lunch with Jane and Anne, Katherine’s phone rang. An unknown number. She nearly yelped out loud and snatched her phone of the table, ignoring Jane and Anne’s confused looks and put the phone to her ear.   
“Hello?” She gasped, so hopeful that this was the call she had been waiting for. She was met with a male voice, and a very strong Scottish accent.   
“Is thes Margie? Thes is David, ah jist wanted tae see if ye wanted tae get a bevvy sometime?”  
“Sorry you have the wrong number.” Katherine mumbled into her phone, nearly in tears. She put her phone down and looked up at her friends.   
“Kitty, what’s going on, why do you look like someone just ran over Jane with a truck?” Anne commented, which only prompted Katherine to actually start crying, the tears spilling down her cheeks. Jane shot Anne a glare from across the table and then reached out to wrap an arm around Katherine.  
“Kat darling, what’s got you so upset? Annie and I just want to help, please talk to us love. You haven’t been yourself for a few days now and whatever it is that’s bothering you, you can always talk to us about it.”  
Katherine shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. She couldn’t explain the situation to Jane and Anne now, not when she had messed up this situation so far beyond repair. She should have never let Mackenzie leave with her father, she should have taken her home with the queens, found a way to keep her from ever being hurt again. But now she was too late. The shame and guilt were all consuming, and she couldn’t explain that to them even if she wanted to.  
“I’m fine” she managed to get out, “Can we please just have lunch and not talk about it?”  
Jane looked concerned, but she nodded, and the three ladies ate the rest of their lunch in near silence.

Later that night Katherine was unable to sleep. She tossed and turned, and every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Mackenzie’s face staring up at her. She wished she had more power to fix everything. She wished she were braver, or better. She wished she had some of Aragon’s faith to keep her going. Katherine sat up in bed suddenly. Aragon, that was it. Catherine of Aragon knew what was right and what was wrong better than anyone else, and she was not afraid to speak up when someone had done something wrong. Katherine got out of bed and crept down the hall, praying that Aragon was still awake. Sure enough, her light was on, and Kat could hear a faint singing through the door. She knocked softly before poking her head in the door.  
“Catherine?”  
“Kat, what’s got you up so late?”  
“Can I ask you something?” Catherine nodded and Kat stepped around the door and scurried into the room, sitting across from Aragon on her bed. She took a deep breath before continuing. “If you think something bad might be happening, and you could have stopped it, but you didn’t, is that bad?”  
Aragon smiled softly at the younger queen, “Well, we should always help those in need. Being a bystander to tragedy is nearly as bad as causing that tragedy yourself. But not being able to stop a bad thing is different than not trying to stop a bad thing. We have to try our hardest to stop tragedy from happening, but if we cannot, we aren’t held accountable for what happens if we are unable to stop it.”  
Katherine thought about the Spanish queen’s words for a minute. Had she tried her hardest? Was there more she could do? Aragon remained silent as Katherine thought about her predicament, understanding that the girl needed time to process. Katherine looked up at Aragon again, meeting her eyes with a quiet determination.  
“I have to try again.” She said firmly. “I have to try harder.”

The next morning, Katherine spent several hours looking up different schools around London, looking at websites, trying to find a picture of Mackenzie. She made a list of possible options, it couldn’t be a boy’s school obviously, and it had to be a school for students aged roughly 10-13. Even through hair and makeup she continued to search. She finally stopped her search when she was interrupted by Cathy Parr.   
“Kat, love, why are you looking at Highgate school? You’re a little too old to be heading to primary school.”  
“Oh I…” Katherine struggled trying to come up with an explanation as to why she was staring at photos of children on a school’s website. “I read an article about them, and I just wanted to check it out.” Cathy nodded, seemingly unconvinced, but didn’t push the topic further. 

When Katherine got home from the show, she went straight upstairs and flopped ungracefully on her bed. All the other queens had gone out, but Katherine was exhausted. She hadn’t slept properly in days, and all her waking hours had been spent worrying about and searching for Mackenzie. Katherine closed her eyes and tried to push all of her worries out of her head. Just as she was starting to nod off, her phone began buzzing. She very nearly ignored it, but something told her to open her eyes and answer her phone. She placed the phone to her ear, not even bothering to see who was calling.   
“Hello?” She murmured sleepily into the phone.   
“Hello? Is this Katherine Howard?” A small voice answered. Katherine’s eyes shot open and she sat up quickly.  
“Yes?” She said, hope and joy filling her voice, “Who is this?”  
“Um… This is Mackenzie Summers, from the other night? I just… I didn’t know what else to do. I know it’s late and I probably woke you up, oh god did I wake you up? I’m so sorry, I just… I need help.” Katherine’s eyes started to fill with tears. The girl sounded so alone, so frightened, and she was worrying about bothering Katherine?   
“Mackenzie, you absolutely did not wake me up, I’m so glad you called me.” She said earnestly. “What is it you need; how can I help you?”  
“I ran away.” Mackenzie mumbled. “I ran away and now I’m lost in the middle of the night and I never should have left home, I should just go back before someone realizes I’m gone.”  
“No, Mackenzie please don’t do that.” Katherine got up and started pulling her boots onto her feet. “I am going to come find you, I am going to come get you and I’ll bring you somewhere warm and safe. Okay?”  
“That would be nice.” Mackenzie’s voice was so quiet Katherine could barely hear her.   
“Okay, do you see anything around you, any street signs, anything?”  
“Um, I think I’m on something called Woodbridge street, I think I see a church”  
“Brilliant,” Katherine placed the phone on speaker and pulled it from her ear to map out the route. “Okay Mackenzie I think I see where you mean, stay near the church, and please don’t hang up on me, I’m coming to get you.” Katherine heard a tiny sob from the girl on the phone. “Mackenzie, love, you’ve got to stay with me, please trust me, I’m coming to get you and I am going to take you somewhere safe.”  
“I trust you. Thank you, Katherine.”   
And with that Katherine Howard was out the door and into the streets of London, off to find Mackenzie Summers.


	3. Meant to Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Folks, I'm sorry I disappeared, life got absolutely insane but I am back and more motivated than ever to continue this story! Here is chapter three!

When Katherine finally reached Woodbridge street, she looked around frantically, searching for a tiny shape in the dark night. She could see the church ahead of her, but there was no sign of Mackenzie. Rain had started coming down in buckets, and this was one of the coolest autumn nights Katherine could remember.  
“Mackenzie!” She called, distress causing the name to catch in her throat. “Mackenzie? Mackenzie are you here?”  
“Katherine?” A tiny voice called, and Kat ran towards the sound as though a thousand dogs were chasing her. She found Mackenzie curled up on the sidewalk, soaking wet and shaking like a leaf. Big blue eyes filled with tears met her own, and Katherine fell to her knees, trying to shelter the small girl from not only the rain, but also the terrors of the world. Mackenzie slowly sat up, and with Katherine’s help, gradually stood on her shaking legs. When Katherine saw her face, she struggled to hold in a gasp. Mackenzie’s eyes were ringed in purple bruises, and a scab was forming on her bloody lower lip. It took all of her power not to wrap her arms around the girl, but she had a feeling that physical contact was not what Mackenzie needed right now. Slowly she placed a hand on her trembling shoulder.  
“Mackenzie?” There was no reaction in Mackenzie’s face. “Mackenzie, love, can you hear me?” Mackenzie nodded slightly and Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, I’m going to call someone to come get us, and I’m going to take you back to our house.” Another slight nod. Katherine pulled out her phone and dialed, praying that there would be an answer on the other end.  
“Hello?” A half-asleep voice called through the phone, “Kitty why on earth are you calling me at two in the morning?”  
“Annie, I don’t really have time to explain, but I need you to come get me.”

Fifteen minutes later Katherine saw one of the Queens’ cars pull up in front of the church. She hurried to pull Mackenzie back to her feet and led her towards the vehicle. Katherine had been trying to keep the girl warm, but she hadn’t stopped shivering, and Katherine was seriously beginning to worry about pneumonia. Once they were in the backseat of the car, Katherine met Anne Boleyn’s eyes. Annie’s eyes were full of confusion and concern, but all Katherine could do was whisper that she would explain later. Anne shrugged, turned back around, and started the car. As they pulled away from the church, Mackenzie began to lean on Katherine, but quickly sat back up as soon as she began to fall asleep. Katherine decided to take a small leap.  
“Mackenzie, why don’t you lay your head in my lap, you must be very tired.” Mackenzie looked up, searching Katherines eyes and voice for any sign of deception or malice, but found none. She lay down carefully, resting her head on Katherine’s thighs, and sighed deeply. Katherine could feel how tense she was, and gently began to run her hand through Mackenzie’s hair, until she heard her breathing even out, and the tension release from her shoulders. As worried as Katherine was for Mackenzie, she couldn’t ignore how happy she was to be able to provide some comfort to the trembling figure resting on her legs. 

Both all too soon and not quickly enough, Anne pulled up in front of the Queens’ house. As soon as the car stopped moving, Mackenzie woke with a start, and sat up quickly with a small yelp.  
“Shh, its okay love, we’ve just reached our house, there’s nothing to worry about.” Katherine soothed. Mackenzie took a deep breath and nodded. “How about we get out of the car and go inside?” The girl nodded again but made no motion to exit. “Mackenzie? Are you okay?” Suddenly a sob escaped Mackenzie’s mouth.  
“I’m – I’m so sorry” Mackenzie said through tears. “I shouldn’t have – I shouldn’t have called you, I’m so sorry.”  
“Hey,” Anne said, speaking for the first time since they got in the car. “I don’t know why you need us, or what I’m doing driving around in the middle of the night, but I do know that you look like you need help, and you should never apologize for needing help. Clearly Kitty cares about you, and if you’re important to Kitty then you’re important to the rest of us. Now let’s get you inside to warm up.” Anne’s direct but kind words seemed to send a jolt of life into Mackenzie, and she nodded vigorously and got out of the car. 

Once inside, Katherine led Mackenzie up the stairs to the second floor.  
“I know you’re tired, but you’re freezing cold and I’m worried about you getting sick. Would it be alright if I ran you a warm bath?”  
“Yes, that would be alright.”  
“Excellent, the bathroom is right this way.” As they entered the bathroom, Mackenzie moved into the corner and Katherine got the water running. Once the tub was full, she stood up and walked towards the door. “I’ll give you some privacy,” she said with a kind smile, “If you need anything just call. I’ll be in my room, which is just down the hall to the left” She then stepped out of the bathroom and found herself face to face with Anne.  
“Kitty what the hell is going on? Why is there a tiny child in our house and why were you running around outside in the middle of the night?” Tears filled Katherine’s eyes as Anne spoke and she crumbled to her knees. Anne came down with her and wrapped her arms around her body. The adrenaline was leaving Katherine’s body, and she was suddenly feeling the cold and exhaustion now that she knew Mackenzie was safe.  
“Annie, I needed to help her. Her father was hurting her, people were hurting her. People were hurting her the way I was hurt, and I can’t let that happen. I can’t let that happen again, I met her at the show, and I knew, I knew what was wrong, so I gave her my number and she called me because she needs help. I don’t know how to help her, but I can’t let her be destroyed by that man.” Katherine’s words became higher and faster as she spoke, and by the end of her speech she was shaking in Anne’s arms.  
“Okay. Okay. I understand.” Anne was trying to keep her voice calm and stable, but Katherine could hear the underlying anger. Not at her, or Mackenzie, she knew, but at the injustice of the world. “We are going to look after her. We are going to make sure she is never hurt again. At this, Katherine wrapped her arms around her cousin. She didn’t know how to properly express how grateful she was, but she knew that Annie understood. Once the two girls untangled themselves from each other, Anne made her way to bed and Katherine searched for something for Mackenzie to wear to bed. She pulled out a bright pink pyjama shirt and shorts, both of which were going to be way too large on the girl but would have to do. Katherine made a mental note to take Mackenzie shopping once she was feeling a little better.  
“Katherine?” Kat turned around quickly to face the voice. Mackenzie was standing in the doorway wrapped in a towel. Now that she wasn’t entirely covered in clothes, Katherine could see some of the other injuries covering her tiny body. Her neck and shoulders were covered in bruises and scars, Katherine could make out several bite marks, as well as other marks that looked like they had been made by choking and hitting the young girl. Rage and horror bubbled up inside her, but she put a small smile on her face and held out the pyjamas. She turned around and waited for Mackenzie’s signal that she was alright to look.  
“Okay, I’m good.” As expected, the clothes were much too large for Mackenzie, but she had tightened the waistband of the pants, and they looked like they were going to work for today.  
“Mackenzie, you’re going to sleep in my bed tonight, I’m going to go sleep with Annie, remember if you need anything, please come get me.” As Katherine turned to go, she was stopped by Mackenzie’s small wind-chime call of her name.  
“Katherine? Could you actually stay?”  
“Of course, love.” Katherine laid down on the bed and motioned for the girl to join her. Mackenzie climbed under the covers and without thinking, curled herself into Katherine’s side. Warmth flooded Katherine’s heart, and she wrapped an arm around Mackenzie. She had only known the girl for a matter of days, but already she knew that this was right. This was where Mackenzie was meant to be.


	4. My Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Look at me go, two chapters in one week! Just wanted to say that this chapter has a little bit of self-victim-blaming, so if that's something that is triggering to you, feel free to click away and I will see you again next chapter, which will contain a tiny bit more happiness!

The next morning, Katherine was awoken by shouting from outside her room. She had nearly forgotten that there was a little girl in her arms, but the sound of shouting also woke Mackenzie. She let out a small yelp and Katherine loosened her hold as Mackenzie wriggled out of her arms and leapt out of bed, hyperaware. Katherine sat up quickly and held her hands out in front of her, as though trying to comfort a startled animal.  
“Mackenzie, Mackenzie, it’s okay, you don’t need to worry, you’re with me, you’re safe.” Mackenzie’s breathing started to slow at Katherine’s words, and Katherine took a moment to listen to what the shouting outside the door was about. Once she realized, she let out a small giggle. “It’s alright, it’s just Anne and Aragon, I think if I hear correctly, Annie ate Aragon’s portion of bacon.” Mackenzie froze and listened closely.   
“ARAGON YOU DON’T EVEN LIKE BACON THAT MUCH I DON’T UNDERSTAND YOUR PROBLEM!”  
“MY PROBLEM, BOELYN, IS YOU!” Katherine laughed again as the shouting got louder, but Mackenzie still looked nervous.  
“Don’t worry Mackenzie, they fight like this all the time, they always make up, it’s not a big deal.” Kat smiled kindly and moved towards to trembling girl, “I know the shouting can be scary at first, but nothing bad ever comes from it. Anne is going to apologize, and Aragon is going to forgive her.”  
“How do you know?” Mackenzie’s voice was shaky.  
“Because they love each other.” As she spoke, Katherine reached the girl and put her hand gently on her shoulder. “And that’s what families do.” Mackenzie nodded gently and breathed out a sigh. “Now,” continued Katherine, holding out her hand for Mackenzie to hold, “How about we introduce you to the rest of the queens?”

As the two girls walked into the kitchen, five pairs of eyes turned to look at them, and Mackenzie shrunk into Katherine’s side. She knew these women were not going to hurt her, but it was still quite intimidating. Anne had mentioned to the Queens that “Kitty had brought someone home late last night”, but the ambiguity of that statement left the Queens non the less surprised when they saw Katherine with a tiny girl attached to her hand.   
“Everyone, this is Mackenzie.” Katherine announced. “Mackenzie, these are the Queens.” She turned back to her family, eyes silently pleading them not to question too much in front of Mackenzie. “Would you like to introduce yourselves?” After a short uncomfortable pause, Anne stepped up.  
“Well you already know me, I’m Anne, Annie if you’re Kitty and Boleyn if you’re Aragon and angry with me. It’s nice to officially meet you Mackenzie.”   
“I’m Jane,” The blond queen spoke up next, her tone similar to how she spoke to Katherine when they first met. “It’s lovely to meet you.”  
“Catherine of Aragon.” Aragon spoke formally and extended her hand, which Mackenzie gingerly shook before reattaching herself to Katherine.  
“I’m Anna, and I’m going to take you shopping for pyjamas that aren’t a million sizes too big.” Mackenzie blushed slightly but laughed lightly at Anna’s odd but friendly greeting. Finally, Parr stepped forward.  
“I’m Catherine Parr, but you can call me Cathy, there are too many Catherine’s around here.” Cathy smiled gently and lowered herself to her knees in front of Mackenzie. “I know this must be quite overwhelming. There are a lot of us and we’re not exactly a calming bunch.” Mackenzie looked up, and Cathy took a moment to survey the bruises and cuts covering the girl’s face and neck. “But you’re safe here,” she continued. She paused a moment before standing and speaking again. “Now Anne finished the bacon, are you all right with sausage? And how do you like your eggs?” Mackenzie didn’t answer at first, but after a quick glance at Katherine squeaked out:  
“Fried please, but I can make it myself you don’t have to- “  
“Oh hush” Cathy said with mock seriousness, “I make the best fried egg in London, you must try them.” Katherine had wanted to give the other Queens a chance to get to know Mackenzie, but she also knew that she had to talk to the girl about what had happened to her. She took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation to have, but it was important that Katherine had all the information she needed to keep Mackenzie safe.  
“How about you and I go sit in the living room?” She squeezed Mackenzie’s hand gently and began to lead her out of the room. As the pair exited the kitchen, Katherine turned around and quickly mouthed “please bring me ice”. She wasn’t sure if anyone understood but it was definitely important that Mackenzie got some ice on her bruises. In the living room, Katherine plopped herself down on the bright yellow sofa. The living room was a collection of all the Queen’s personalities, and yellow had been a compromise between Katherine and Anne. Jane and Aragon weren’t overly fond of the bright colour at first, but it had become everyone’s secret favourite piece of their otherwise neutrally coloured communal living space. Mackenzie sat carefully and stiffly on the edge of the sofa and glanced around the space. The mantle of the fireplace was covered in family photos, smiling faces and beautiful places. Katherine observed as Mackenzie took in the space and felt a pang in her heart when she realized that Mackenzie probably hadn’t ever taken family photos like these. She made a mental note to add a photo of the two of them to the mantle as soon as she could.  
“Mackenzie?” Mackenzie turned to face Katherine, exhaustion and sadness in her eyes. “You know you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want to, and I will never let you go somewhere where you won’t be safe, but I do need to know who was hurting you, because they might be hurting other people, and anyone who hurt you should be punished.” Mackenzie was silent for a moment, thinking over Katherine’s words.  
“If I tell you who they are they’ll kill me.” Her eyes filled with tears and Katherine moved over towards her on the sofa and grasped her hand firmly.   
“No, they won’t. I promise Mackenzie no one is going to hurt you again. They aren’t ever going to get a chance. I just need to keep you safe and in order to do that I need to know who these people are.” Mackenzie curled up into Katherine’s side and Katherine wrapped her arms around her. They stayed there together for as long as Mackenzie needed. Katherine knew from experience how hard this was, and she wanted to make this as easy as possible. 

“My father, Ted Summers” Mackenzie began after a short while with a shaky breath. “Well, technically he’s my step-father. He married my mother when I was a baby, but she died when I was three. He was never a great dad, and he used to hit me a lot when I didn’t do exactly what he wanted. As I got older, he-he…” She trailed off, unable to put into words the terrible things that the man who was supposed to protect her had done. “Then there are his friends. They’re awful. They get so drunk together and when they get drunk, they get… handsy. Jordan Scott and Leo Fallon. They’re the worst ones. Then there was my old doctor, I don’t remember his name, I stopped seeing him when I was seven. I never wanted to go because he was mean, and he touched me where I didn’t want to be touched. So, my father just stopped sending me. I haven’t been to the doctor since.” Mackenzie went silent after that. Katherine didn’t want to push but she knew she was missing one more name.   
“You mentioned something about a music teacher?” She murmured carefully. When she felt Mackenzie tense slightly, she continued, “you don’t have to tell me, you’re just doing so well, and once I have their names, we don’t ever have to talk about them again.”  
“Mr. Gruber” Mackenzie said, “but that one was different, that one wasn’t his fault, it was mine.” At this, Katherine bristled.  
“Mackenzie it wasn’t your- “  
“I knew you were going to say that which is why I didn’t want to talk about it!” Mackenzie cut her off with more fire in her voice than Katherine had ever heard before. The small girl pulled away and met Katherine’s eyes. “It was my fault. I wanted him to like me, he’s a great teacher and I’m his favourite student. My other teachers don’t like me, but Mr. Gruber knew I had potential, so he gave me private singing lessons for free. I went to him every time, and he was just trying to make me a better singer. He couldn’t help himself, that’s what he said, and he said he was going to make sure it didn’t hurt me too much. It hurt – it hurt a lot… But I kept going back because he cares about me, he really does, it’s my fault, I tempted him, I – I shouldn’t have kept going I- “ Mackenzie’s words died in her throat as she began to cry, and Katherine, fueled with anger towards everyone who had hurt Mackenzie, took the opportunity to grab the girl’s hand again.  
“Mackenzie none of that is your fault. It’s normal to want to be loved and cared for, especially when you don’t get any of it at home. That doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t mean that an adult is allowed to take advantage of you. Mr. Gruber abused his power; you were in no position to stop him.” This was a monologue that Katherine Howard had repeated to herself hundreds of times. It felt both strange and right to be saying it to someone else. “You are a child Mackenzie. Anyone who hurts you is a bad person, and that doesn’t reflect on you, it reflects on them.” Mackenzie fell back into Katherine’s arms and clung to her with all her might. Katherine had never been this angry in 450 years. She held Mackenzie like it was her only purpose in life. Suddenly, Anne burst into the room, causing both girls to flinch.  
“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” She shouted, taking in the tears in the eyes of both her cousin and the child. “I just wanted to say, your eggs are ready, and Anna was thinking that all seven of us could go shopping after you eat. How does that sound?” Katherine looked to Mackenzie to see her response. It would be completely understandable for Mackenzie not to be up for shopping at the moment, but determination and resilience apparently won out as Mackenzie nodded her head quickly and even shot a small smile in Anne’s direction. “Brilliant!” Anne marched out of the room, and Katherine and Mackenzie were left, holding each other, neither wanting to be the first to break away.


End file.
